Local boards: U.Va. failed to weigh legal, political realities in firing Sullivan

Samieh Shalash, sshalash@dailypress.com | 757-247-4537

The firestorm surrounding the presidency at the University of Virginia highlights the legal and political reality of leading a university, say current and former board members of local colleges.

The lack of consensus among U.Va.'s Board of Visitors after it announced Teresa Sullivan's ouster June 10 was a clear sign the situation would go awry, says Ross Mugler.

"There never should have been a split decision on something this monumental," said Mugler, who served on Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors from 2002-2010.

U.Va.'s board reinstated Sullivan this week after an outpouring of protests as well as a threat by Gov. Bob McDonnell to fire the entire board if it didn't reach consensus during Tuesday's meeting.

That governor's threat made it "a foregone conclusion" that Sullivan would get her job back, says John Conrad, outgoing rector of Christopher Newport University's Board of Visitors.

The board didn't follow its own bylaws by failing to move into a public session to vote on firing Sullivan, Conrad said.

Politically, it failed to explain the move and gain support from faculty, students and alumni, he said.

"The (U.Va.) board didn't get out in front of the issue and develop support for this termination," he said. "They took an aggressive position politically without the support of any of their constituents."

Carlos Brown, a U.Va. alum who serves on CNU's board, said there should have been a "public vetting of whether or not it was legitimate" to fire Sullivan. She was hired in 2010 as U.Va.'s first female president.

"I think with a more open process the community would have deferred to the board," he said, adding a Board of Visitors should only fire a president in extreme circumstances.

The decision to reinstate Sullivan in response to political pressures creates a challenging situation for all state universities, he said, because boards have to retain their ability to supervise the president.

The rector of U.Va.'s board, Helen Dragas, reportedly spearheaded firing Sullivan because they clashed about offering online programs and because the board wanted to operate the college more like a business.

Conrad said he's concerned the flip-flop at U.Va. will discredit the work college boards do.

"Folks should tread very cautiously about upsetting that check and balance by reacting too heavily to what happened at U.Va.," he said.

At William and Mary, both the rector and a board member with deep ties to U.Va. distanced themselves from the controversy.

Robert Scott, a W&M board member since 2008, spent 27 years at U.Va. as both a professor and dean of the law school.

"I'm no longer associated with (U.Va.) and don't have any comments," he said. "I think I better stay out of it."

Rector Jeff Trammell said he preferred to focus on discussing W&M, but that he's sure U.Va. "will not miss a beat and will be right back in the first tier of universities."